Lime and Raspberry Bread

With a half-dozen limes freshly picked from a heavy-with-early-season-fruit lime tree and a large basket of organic, super sweet, nearly black raspberries in my kitchen, I knew that I had to find a way to combined them. Tempted as I was to just eat all the berries unadorned), the combination of zesty lime and rich berries just seemed too good to pass up.

And I’ll tell you right now that I’m glad I decided to go for it because this loaf turned out to be more than I had hoped for. It was easy to put together and baked up to look stunning, with a light gold crust on top and a white interior studded with vibrant red raspberries beneath. It was also very moist and light in texture, nearing a cake-like consistency that made me think this bread could be served on special occasions with tea or coffee, as well as just whipped up for personal enjoyment.

The flavor is excellent – very bright and zesty from all the lime juice. With my 6 large limes, I was able to get 3/4 cup of juice. It’s hard for me to predict how many you might need without seeing your limes, but I would think that 6-8 limes should be plenty for this recipe. And don’t worry if, after you juice your limes, you find that you’re short by a tablespoon or three of juice. If you come close to the 3/4 cup called for, just make up the last few tablespoons (2-3) of juice with water. As long as you have enough liquid, the loaf will turn out just fine, and because there is quite a bit of lime zest (and a little extra never hurt, either), the loaf should still have tons of flavor.

 You can use fresh or frozen raspberries for this loaf. I, as previously mentioned, used fresh berries and my only caution with them is to fold them into the batter gently, so that they don’t get entirely crushed and dye the batter pink. If you’re going to use frozen, don’t defrost them ahead of time. Just dust them with 2 tsp or so of all purpose flour (to help prevent their juices from bleeding) and stir them in.

Lime and Raspberry Bread
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about 6 large limes)
1 tbsp lime zest
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 large egg, well beaten
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
2-3 tsp coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Combine lime juice, lime zest, melted butter and egg in small mixing bowl and whisk vigorously to combine. Pour into flour mixture and stir until just blended and no streaks of flour remain. Gently stir in raspberries, then scrape batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with 2-3 tsp coarse sugar, if desired.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf.